Happy Family

A fun idea that needed some extra thought. The lack of cohesion puts in evidence the lack of thought behind it. The actors are fun to watch. Fabrizo Bentivoglio superb, as usual. Diego Abatantuono, funny and human in the most Italian way. Margerita Buy is beautiful and lovely but the idea remains just that, an idea. Some visual surprises plus Simon and Garfunkel makes you wonder what could have been if Salvatores and his co-writer had taken the whole thing as seriously as it deserved rather than standing at the periphery of it all and, it appears, very pleased with themselves. In any case, an attempt at something different in an Italian movie. That gets the extra points for trying, but Mr. Salvatores, that's not nearly enough.

Pure pleasure! A playful collage of ingredients, taking the viewer on a journey to places both familiar and unfamiliar but always delightful. The filmmaker talks to us about his story, gives up on it at a point, talks to his characters, even gives us two (count them) different endings....with existential musings from Groucho Marx and songs by Simon and Garfunkle along the way. The performers are all excellent, the humor is wonderfully performed with superb timing, and the citations from favorite films are more than homage...they are as delightful in themselves as the originals they honor. The black and white tribute to Manhattan during a piano solo is in itself a work of art! A surprise that will leave you both smiling and thinking and looking for new wonders around you!